Omaha daily bee., 1887-03-07
A CHAIN OF HILL CITIES,
The Black Hills Encircled By Young and
Thriving Communities.
THEIR POSITION AND PROSPECTS
Some Noted Characters New and Old
The Conflict OF Tcndcrfcct
and Mossbncks-Boy.
colts and Nudge.

RAPID CRY, OAK, March 81 Core.
spondencc of the BEE. Recent growth
of settlements in the Black Hills is much
more in the agricultural than in the min
ing towns-a fact that speaks for the
varied resources of the country; agricul-
tural, stock, lumber and building ma
terial are destined to rival her precious
minerals as sources of wealth. Thus,
while Deadwood and the populous min
ing camps around it remain the mining
town of the Hills, the trend of settlement
is along the foothills. Gordon of new
towns has within n few years almost en-
circled the Black Hills. Hot Springs, on
the extreme south, then Buffalo Gap,
Hcrmosa, Rapid City, Sturgis, Minnesota
Ton the extreme north) and Sundancc,
Wyo., make the circuit. A town to be
built somewhere near Jcnny's Stockadc,
Wyo., or at the Salt springs on the south
western margin will complete the corral
of the Hills. Of the towns named all but
three are county seats, and of those three,
Sturgis is reaching out for the honor by
the division of Lawrence co unity Ia bill
for which is now pending between the
governor and legisl ature of the territory,
while Buff alo Gap or Hermosa, as capi
tai of Custer county, would be, like Bar
kis," wiliin'.
Hot Springs has its peculiar prospects
IN its therma springs and romantic re-
sorts. Buffalo Gap is the railroad station
for the Southern Hills and has prospects
in its stone and building materials,
which are at once nearest to market and
best of any in the hills, especially its
variegatcd marbles The town is only
over year old, has no debt, has never
| meets all expenses; SO that its credit
ought to be A No. 1. But it isn't because
of a laundering financial policy. which
allows town script to be redeemed re-
gardless of date of issue or order of regis
traitor. The surplus warrants not needed
by the liquor sellers have no market
value. no one buys at any price; hence
control its entire finances. They are the
only taxpayers and the only buyers of
script.
Hermosa and Rapid City build much
on the growth of agricultural interests.
The latter has the advantage of ample
water power and will add manufactures
If she can manage to suppress few of
to the canine-in the feed box policy. Her
strong position as the entrepOt of the
central and northern hills seems about to
be enhanced by fresh movements for the
development of her nearer mines, which
have been overshadOwed by the rapid
development of the upper hills. A special
letter needs to be reserved for these
movements.
Minnesota. the capital of the northcr-
most hills county of Butte, has lately
been taken in hand by the Minnesota
Townsite and improvement company,
organized by lion. John II. King, Of
Rapid City, who has purchased new
removal of the town thither. One of the
advantages of the new removal is that
| it lies in the track to the Hay Creek,
| (WyO.l cOalfields. There is already road
organized and surveyed from Deadwood
| thither via Minnesala; and the same fuel
| district is the objective point of all roads
reaching toward the hills. l have seen
| Northern Pacific, which foreshadOws the
| company's intention to strike for this Sec
ton from Mandan. They lately sent an
expert to examine the Hay Greek coal,
and the tests are said to have been salts
factory as this correspondence followed.
The Northern Pacific has long had a
"weather-eye" turned this way not only
for the coal, timber and ore exports, bat
to protect its large cattle shipments from
Dakota and Wyoming. which are al.
ready invaded by the Northwestern and
prOspectively threatened by the B. & NJ
Union Pacific, and other trunks. The
distance across to the hills from the
Northern Pacific is only 21O miles and the
route lies through the rich valleys of the
Little Missouri and Belle Fourch.
Sundance, Wyo., is the capital Of
Crook county, a good range, mineral,
| petroleum and agricultural area of 10, 900
square miles-larger than Massachusetts,
| New Jersey or Maryland; it would make
five Delawares. There is already emf
grafton from this section to Sundance,
and much buildlngi in progress or pro
posed.
These foot-hll towns, except Rapid
City, are all small yet; there are no
Blooms" on; but we have learned in the
west to 'desplse not the day of small
things" and to dread the hind end of q
boom and mule that has been prodded
too much.
BLACK-HILI.s CHARACTER.
The sudden death Of ex-Probate Judge
Benedict, of Pennington county, removes
picturesque character and a disturbing
element in republican politics. His ad-
mlnistraton of Rapid City school funds
in his hands was one Of the chief causes
of the defeat of almost the entire ticket
| to head. fear that the rebuke went far
to break the old mans heart. He was a
very large, unkempt person with
thin, strldent voice, AN earnest manner
and grotesque speech, that combined to
make him a character on the stump or in
court-for he graduated from the bar
placer to the bar legal. Hi, heart was as
large as his frame, and his oratOry as eX-
pansive and untrammelled US these grand
Hills-albeit unconventional and defiant
of petty grammatical limitations. His
metaphors invariably reached the anti
climax and generally brought the re-
ductio ad absurdum and the house down
"a result not less ludicrous because evi-
IDENTIFY unexpected to the earnest speaker.
His eXtravagant kindness and extrava-
giant sayings will be alike long remem-
bercd in the camps. Referring to the ed
itor of the Republican, with whom he
once had a controversy, he said: 'He
thinks he's done big thing and he's
gone out there onto the street with his
| cOuntenance shining like new TIN milk
pan in the midday sun, looking as wise
and pensive as settin' hen. l might as
we'll try to convince a small boy that hls
| corn stalk fiddle was not sweetcr music
than his mother piano as to convince that
| man that he is not the greatest journalist